Thursday, August 22, 2024 -At least 17 people have died in a blast in an Indian pharmaceutical factory, with chemicals burning the skin off several of the 30 others injured, police said on Thursday, August 22.
Several
Hindu newspapers reported that the force of the blast had been so strong, that
it left severed body parts scattered around the site.
The fire broke out on Wednesday
afternoon, August 21, at a pharmaceutical unit in Andhra Pradesh’s Anakapalli
district.
District police superintendent M.
Deepika told AFP that no one was left trapped inside the building and rescue
operations were over.
“(There are) 17 dead and 34 injured,”
he said.
He added that investigators believe
the blast was caused by a gas leak.
Local police official M. Buchanan
told the Indian Express daily that those caught in the blast suffered horrific
chemical burns.
“It was horrible, heartbreaking,” he told
the paper, describing the pain people suffered as those who survived were
carried to ambulances.
"They were screaming before they lost
consciousness”.
It was not immediately what had sparked the
explosion.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said he was “pained by the loss of
lives”, in a post on social media, announcing compensation of $2,380 to the
families of those killed.
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